Amelia Hawthorne
Amelia Hawthorne (5 BBY—) is an officer of the New Republic's Second Fleet, serving as Gunnery Chief for the NRCV Audacity, and a non-denominational Chalactan adept, whose views occasionally clash with the mainstream of her faith. Biography Eu (5 BBY – 14 ABY) No record exists of the circumstances behind Amelia's birth, other than a brief, handwritten file that still exists at the Temple of Illumination on Chalacta, lost amongst countless other notations. She was raised with many other such children, the lost, orphaned, or otherwise abandoned, overseen by a member of the Convocation of Adepts by the name of Gilla Chil'b who had devoted his time toward propagating his particular viewpoint on the natural laws supposedly governing the universe into a new generation of minds. The earliest years of Amelia's life are spent in this fashion; hearing sermons that border on the point of brainwashing, partaking in an almost endless number of rituals, several bouts of fasting each year, and daily meditation on all that she was being taught by Chil'b. It is perhaps ironic that such a strong emphasis on reflection and contemplation was, in the end, what caused an ideological split between Amelia, her peers, and the man that had guided them since infancy. Even after veering down a different path, however, Amelia continues to look back on this earliest period of her life with fondness and no regrets. After leaving what has been her life thus far behind in early 12 ABY, Amelia finds her way to Nak Shimor, where she finds a job as a secretary in a small shipping company. Turning the discipline she had learned at an early age toward academic pursuits, she manages to test favorably in government-run programs, recieving a notation of general equivilency for the education she should have had in a formal institution. Shortly thereafter, she is accepted into a local college of little significance and essentially no prestige, and relentlessly applies herself to achieving a degree. Younger than some of the other students, she becomes something of a novelty in her classes, but forges no lasting friendships from the experience. Attending classes year round, she manages to finish what should have taken her four years by the tail end of 14 ABY, recieving a degree in Theology, with no real focus or specialization. Deon (14 ABY – 16 ABY) She does not press onward to further education, however, instead attending an officer candidate course for the New Republic's Navy. Although Amelia passes the course and is commissioned as a 2nd Deck Officer, despite a poor evaluation by the officer billeted to the OCS program of Amelia's ability to work as part of a team. Her first tour of duty was aboard the NRSC Pakoukou, based out of Kulthis and nominally part of the Third Fleet, as the assistant to the Chief Operator of the Pakoukou's tractor beam projectors. Operations in and around the Cron Drift would be the first of many frustrating experiences that Amelia would have with asteroids, testing her ability to accurately diagnose potential threats on a timetable, and forcing her to develop a divide between her private life and her role as a Naval officer, due to how quickly a distraction could prove fatal, even in her limited area of responsibility. She would serve out her tour of duty with distinction, despite having no contact with the enemy in this time, recieving promotions to 2nd Deck Officer and Ensign by the time of her transfer to the NRCV Audacity in early 16 ABY. Aboard the Audacity, she quickly finds the style of command to be different than what she's used to, with the Audacity's Executive Officer, Lt. Commander Cen, actively taking an interest in encouraging creativity and ideas in the officer corps. Comparatively, serving amongst a largely Mon Calamari crew aboard the Pakoukou had proven much the opposite, with the expectation behind orders, all of which were carefully described and constructed, being that Amelia and others would follow them to the letter. Presently, Amelia has yet to decide whether or not she agrees more with either system, if she does feel a strong slant at all. She has, however, finally experienced combat firsthand, against armed freighters at Almania, and in a pitched battle against the HIMS Emancipator in an asteroid field somewhere in the Larni system. Both engagements end decisively, particularly so in the case of the Emancipator, which explodes shortly after Amelia's firing solution enables Petty Officer Onsor Ordi to land a killing blow against the rival corvette's sensor array. It is suspected that the Emancipator's subsequent destruction is the result of the crew scuttling the vessel, as the damage otherwise had been largely superficial. Amelia continues to serve aboard the Audacity, currently operating as the Acting Gunnery Chief, a transitory position closely observed by the outgoing Gunnery Chief and the Audacity's Executive Officer. Hawthorne, Amelia